Hospitality Surprise!

In the course of reading the familiar story of Abraham’s encounter with three strangers (Genesis 18)—a story I’ve read dozens of times—I was reminded of some of the experiences of thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT). Could you imagine yourself driving along a relatively quiet rural two-lane highway, approaching a couple of scraggly looking characters…

The Solace of Solitiude

It what would seem to some as an act of sheer insanity, in the middle of the afternoon on New Year’s Day—when it was -5º outside—I donned my Smartwools®, ear muffs, down jacket, and gloves, and went for a couple-mile walk on the Rock River Sinnissippi Park trail. Along the path, I came across a…

American Idol(s)

I recently came across a very contemporary sermon preached by the late D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, pastor of London’s Westminster Chapel until 1968. Lloyd-Jones died 35 years ago; the sermon I read is from a series on Isaiah 40 entitled The All-Sufficient God that he preached in 1954. While all the sermons in the series are…

Glorious “Sonrise”

There’s nothing quite like a good sunrise to put things in perspective. I’ve visited Chicago plenty of times through the years and seen a gamut of stuff up close and personal. Certainly, parts of the city are beautiful: Millennium Park…the view from Navy Pier…the grand architecture…the river walk along the Chicago River. My wife and…

Out My Window

As with a good chunk of our nation, we got dumped on pretty heavily this past Saturday night and all day Sunday. I haven’t yet heard the total snowfall accumulation in our community, but a couple hours in the driveway with snow blower and shovel tell me it was significant enough. That part of a…

Abundance!

Usually, if someone is heart-set on having an abundance of something, we tend to be rather critical of his greed and selfishness, right? Generally, that’s justifiable. In the Christian world, one of the greatest blights is the “prosperity gospel” crowd who preach that God wants you to have that big house, fat wallet, glistening Rolex,…

Saying Goodbye…

104 years is a long time. Well, maybe not in terms of the sum total of human history, but in terms of one person’s life it is. Less than three weeks after her 104th birthday, my last grandparent—my grandmother on dad’s side—peacefully ended her earthly pilgrimage at her home in Somerset, Kentucky. For several years,…

The Blue Dolphin

She had every reason—humanly speaking—to be discouraged…terribly discouraged. I was visiting one of our church ladies in the rehab section of a local nursing home. A few months ago, she had broken her leg—well, “shattered” might be a better term—and there have been a couple of surgeries, days of immobilization, weeks of very painful physical…

Green Pastures

One of the many things I’ve always loved about Vermont is the lush, vibrant colors, especially this time of year. By now, of course, the beautiful leaves have given up the battle to stay attached to their life-giving branches, fallen to the ground, and are in various stages of decay. Nevertheless, the stunning colors of…

“This is the way…”

On a recent visit to our former home state of Vermont, my wife and I decided to hike to the summit of the state’s highest mountain, Mt. Mansfield. Although I knew which trail we were going to take and where the trailhead was, I wanted a little more information—like how long the trail was, how…